Link: Buffalo News - Hecht fights frustration as scoring slips.
This season so far has been full of a great number of happy surprises, from Tim Connolly and Brian Campbell's breakthroughs as go-to guys, to the high quality of play from a number of rookies to the surprisingly resiliant character of such a young team in general. If you had asked me at the beginning of the season if Jochen Hecht would have just 4 more points than Paul Gaustad at the season's mid-point I would have laguhed at you in a most obnoxious and dismissive manner and then wandered off chuckling to myself in delighted self-satisfaction at my obvious superiority leaving you to mutter obscenities and wondering how someone could be so arrogant....
... uh, well, hrmm.
Surprise.
It has been a difficult year so far offensively for Mr. Hecht. Tim Graham's article does a very nice job of pointing them out. From my perspective I think he got off to a rather sluggish start. His linemates Drury and Grier were struggling offensively as well, along with drawing a lot of the early difficult assignments defensively. In some ways they had to adjust to creating offense differently then they had previously and hence had a hard time doing so.
As the season has gone along it looks like Hecht is getting stronger. He's skating harder and faster than he did 2 months ago. His work along the boards, which has always been exemplary, has improved as well. He's always been a player that does all the little things necessary to win hockey games regardless of whether those things wind up on a scoresheet at the end of the night. Because he's skating better the chances have been coming and unlike Mike Grier he does have the hands to put the biscuit in the basket with regularity. The goals will come.
Also, let's not forget that the Sabres have been living on their power play which Hecht doesn't see a lot of. We aren't the best 5 on 5 team and he's primarily a 5 on 5 or short-handed kinda guy. If (and when, otherwise we'll go nowhere but to the golf course in the playoffs) this team does become better 5 on 5, I would expect him to be the guy which catalyzes that change. It's hard to be consistent 5 on 5 when 2 of your top offensive threats have been out with long-term injuries. Yes, others have taken up the slack but not consistently. If teams begin to pay a little more attention to Tim Connolly's line, it may create more room for Drury and Hecht at even-strength. Until that happens, though, they're going to have to slog through playing a tightly-checked 2-way game that is interested more in nullification than creation.
None of this makes him the darling of the ever-so-chic Fantasy GM Set, but... Feh!
We keep winning and that's really all that matters.
Ta,
Update 8:17 pm 1/5: Halfway through the game against Tampa and Hecht has a goal and an assist... both on the Power Play.... what the hell do I know...?! Thanks Jochen, for making me look like a jackass....
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